AfriSam’s annual Suppliers’Awards function is an event much anticipated
by the industry, as key suppliers are recognised for their service
and support during the previous year. Suppliers compete for
this prestigious acknowledgment of their superior performance,
reliability and quality which AfriSam actively encourages and courts
as it, in turn, strives to remain the customer of choice for its suppliers.
marketplace
June 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
4
“IT IS ATWO-WAY STREET,”
comments Afri-
Sam’s supply chainmanager, Calie Ehrke.“Our
suppliers are integral to our own growth and
success and we value our long term relation-
ships with them highly. We incentivise one
another to keep raising the bar and in that
way, are motivated to strive for constant im-
provement as we build our future together.”
Suppliers are nominated from different
business units and regions according to
specific categories and then rated against
criteria considered critical to AfriSam’s
business imperatives. Internal awards are
accorded for above average performance,
and this year were attained by the Procure-
ment division, with Johan van Staden col-
lecting the prize for the Strategic Sourcing
Team as the best improved procurement
region/area for 2012 and Dries Naude and
Hendrik Nel representing Dudfield for the
best procurement region for 2012.
Astom Courier Services was acknowl-
edged as the winner among six finalists for
the BBBEE Supplier of the Year 2012 award
while the Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE)
Supplier of the Year 2012 award went to
Bearings International, Kimberley, which beat
seven other finalists to the rope.
“Competition for all the awards is stiff,”
adds Ehrke.“We have some 3 200 vendors on
our vendors list and each one appreciates its
importance to our company. We consider a
range of criteria that vary from total spend to
BBBEE status, fromsafety records to quality of
service or product, from contribution to our
brand to pricing policies and future market
trends, to mention just a few.”
Certificates for the Cement Transporters’
Awards went to Long Distance Swaziland
for the Safety award 2012 for the branded
cement fleet, to Unitrans for the Corporate
Identity award 2012 for the branded cement
fleet and to Long Distance Swaziland again
for the Service Delivery Award. Unitrans then
walked away with the award for Cement
Branded Transporter of the year.
“The non-branded transporters are as
Building with suppliers
important as the branded fleets, since they
also deal directly with our customers,” con-
tinues Ehrke, and the winner in the Third
PartyTransporter of theYear 2012 awardwas
Interfreight. LMM Transport was recognised
as the Ready Mix Transporter of the year
among five finalists.
“This year a new category was intro-
duced: AfriSam Best Improved Key Supplier
of the Year 2012, since we recognised that
numerous suppliers had made great strides
in upgrading their service offering and mak-
ing AfriSam a customer of choice, although
they were not yet able to compete with
the top suppliers. So this year we applaud
Chevron South Africa for walking that extra
mile with us.”
The plum of the awards: AfriSam Key
Supplier of the Year 2012, was granted to
Nampak Sackswhich came out on topdespite
very stiff competition.“One of our key priori-
ties over the next five years in this regard is
to support the establishment and growth
of black-owned business, especially black
women-owned business,”concludes Ehrke.
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In a league of their own. All the winners of this year's AfriSam Supplier of the Year awards.
Nampack Sacks walked away with the award for 'AfriSam Key Supplier of the Year'.
